Photograph Peter Greig; supplied courtesy the artist and KPAP
Sydney audiences always wait with bated breathe for the unveiling of the next Kaldor Public Art Project, which not only dramatically changes the city’s landscape temporarily – think of such projects as Jeff Koons’ Puppy (1995), Gregor Schneider’s intervention at Bondi Beach (2007), Jonathan Jones’ work in the Botanic Gardens (2016) and all the way back to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Wrapped Coastline (1969) – but have also significantly impacted the way we think about contemporary art practice, such as the live performance survey, 13 Rooms (2013) and groundbreaking works such as Gilbert & George (1973).
This week the 33rd Kaldor Public Art Project (KPAP) will be unveiled at a modest site – Observatory Hill Rotunda – positioned above the historic Rocks area and with a 360-degree view of the city and harbour.
It will be the first project of internationally celebrated French-Albanian artist Anri Sala in Australia; the world premiere of his latest installation, Last Resort.
The work is a multi-sensory piece comprising sculpture and sound, and re-imagining the classic Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622.
John Kaldor, Director of Kaldor Public Art Projects said: ‘Anri is the most intellectually engaged artist I have ever met and certainly one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. This work is a tour de force.’
Commenting on his work for Sydney, Sala said: ‘I wanted to imagine how a fictional journey through the winds, the waves, and the water currents of the high seas would affect a musical masterpiece of the age of Enlightenment; what would become of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto if it were to float and drift like a message in a bottle, until it is washed ashore after a long voyage?’
Photograph Peter Greig; supplied courtesy the artist and KPAP
How does a rotunda evoke a floating bottle?
The Last Resort has been inspired by the artist’s visit to Australia and has been developed over three years ahead of its unveiling this week.
Visitors to the artwork will step beneath a gravity-defying ensemble of custom-built drums, to experience their rhythmic, live response to a contemporary interpretation of Mozart’s concerto.
Influenced by the wind patterns of a historic sea journey, this musical dialogue animates the relationship between sound, place, time and history on this evocative site.
Sala has achieved international renown for his works of film, sculpture and installation that create poetic analogies reflecting on different frames of experience. He often bridges language, sound and architecture, orchestrating a dialogue between live and recorded works, to express the shifting and fragile interplay between time, memory and cross-cultural translation.
Detail of installation; photograph Peter Greig; supplied courtesy the artist and KPAP
Sala represented France at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 and was awarded the Vincent Award in 2014 – one of Europe’s most prestigious contemporary art awards. This new art work represents an international co-commission between Kaldor Public Art Projects, Esther Schipper, Berlin, and Marian Goodman Gallery.
Observatory Hill Rotunda is located at Upper Fort St, Millers Point; The Last Resort runs from 13 October until 5 November 2017. It is free to the public from 10am to 6pm daily, with extended opening hours every Wednesday until 7:30pm, giving visitors an opportunity to experience this multi-sensory project against spectacular harbour views at sunset.
The Last Resort is supported by an inclusive engagement program for diverse audiences, comprising talks, panel discussions, musical performances, curriculum-linked school visits and video conferences, Western Sydney masterclasses, innovative disability-led workshops and hands-on family activities. Visit kaldorartprojects.org.au for details.
Anri Sala’s The Last Resort is presented in partnership with Art & About Sydney, and its public program is developed in collaboration with the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences.
